Privacy Policy

Defending Rights & Dissent is committed to protecting the privacy of visitors to our website, as well as our supporters and activists. This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect through our website and how it is used. In this policy, “Defending Rights & Dissent” refers to Defending Rights & Dissent staff, interns, volunteers, board members, and any other parties bound by law or contract to keep confidential information as part of their work with Defending Rights & Dissent.

Information Gathered by the Defending Rights & Dissent Website

We collect two types of user data: (1) technical data that is automatically collected from all visitors to the Defending Rights & Dissent Site (“Automatically Collected Data”); and (2) data that you voluntarily submit to us (described below under “Voluntarily Submitted Data”).

Automatically Collected Data

We automatically collect and store Internet Protocol (“IP”) addresses and domain names of the originating visitor’s computer on our server and may know some information you have previously provided through cookies. (See the section on“Cookies” below for more information.) We also track the number and frequency of hits per page, as well as length of website visit, using IP addresses and/or session cookies. In addition, if you come to the Defending Rights & Dissent website from a website link, we may also identify the source of that link.

Voluntarily Submitted Data

We may collect and store Voluntarily Submitted Data, including personal data, that you voluntarily provide, such as your name and postal address, phone number, email address, and similar information, payment information, and transactional information, such as giving and action-taking history, when you participate in certain activities on the BORDC/DDF website, including (but not limited to) when you:

Subscribe to receive emails from Defending Rights & Dissent;

Make a donation to support the work of Defending Rights & Dissent;

Participate in an “Action” such as signing a petition;

Complete and submit a contact form; or

Participate in any activity that requires your Voluntarily Submitted Data.

Other Collected Data

We also may collect data concerning your use of the Defending Rights & Dissent website or interest in Defending Rights & Dissent communications such as by using an embedded image in an email in order to track whether you open our email communications and using a URL contained in an email we send to you that enables us to identify that you have taken an action using a webpage. We may use this data for a number of reasons, including taking account of your interests in our work so that you do not have to miss the opportunity for us to inform you about, and offer you the chance to take action concerning, the Defending Rights & Dissent issues you care about most, and in order to simplify the process of your signing petitions and filling out surveys.

Cookies

We collect some data through the use of cookies. Cookies are alphanumeric identifiers that are transferred to your browser on your computer or device and either stored permanently for future access by the transferor (“Long-term Cookies”) or temporarily to facilitate the transferor’s website analysis and functionality (“Short-term Cookies”) or that are transferred temporarily to your computer’s Random Access Memory (“Session Cookies”).

We may transfer a Long-term Cookie in circumstances in which you are notified prior to the cookie being stored. For example, when you select a “remember” option on the Defending Rights & Dissent website, a Long-term Cookie will be stored on your browser on your computer or device solely for the purpose of automatically filling in the information you have asked to be remembered, for example, automatically filling in name and address when you write a letter to your representative.

We may use Session Cookies whenever you visit the Defending Rights & Dissent website for our website traffic analytics application and the website’s interactive applications, such as in our online advocacy. Session Cookies last only as long as long as your browser session. They expire when you close your browser and are not permanently stored on your computer or device. We also use Session Cookies in emails containing the HTML-format. If you select “text-only” format preference, emails sent to you will not contain any Session Cookies.

Some of our website analysis and functionality, such as maps and videos, are provided through third-party functionality and require the use of Short-term Cookies. Some elective, third-party media functionality on the Defending Rights & Dissent website may also use Cookies. Please see the “Third Parties—Third-Party Functionality” section below.

Most browsers allow you to choose whether to accept cookies or not. If you do not wish to have cookies placed on your computer, please set your browser preferences to reject all cookies, although please note that by doing so some features of the Defending Rights & Dissent website may become unavailable. To find out more about cookies, including how to see what cookies have been set and how to manage and delete them, visit www.allaboutcookies.org.

How We Use The Data We Collect

In addition to the uses described above, we use Automatically Collected Data to identify the source outside the Defending Rights & Dissent website of user traffic so that we can evaluate what content is persuading web users to become involved in Defending Rights & Dissent’s work. We use Automatically Collected Data, including IP addresses and/or session or short-term cookies, that indicates which sections of the Defending Rights & Dissent website are most visited so that we can perform website traffic analysis, evaluate the popularity of our different web pages and continue to improve the Defending Rights & Dissent website.

We use your Voluntarily Submitted Data for various purposes including, but not limited to:

To fulfill the request for which you specifically provided the data, for example, providing your contact information to Defending Rights & Dissent through a contact form;

To analyze actions taken through our website;

To periodically communicate with you about Defending Rights & Dissent issues and actions, unless you opt out of receiving such information and updates;

To allow you to make financial contributions to Defending Rights & Dissent;

If you have not opted out, to offer you other ways to support the Defending Rights & Dissent, including solicitations for additional contributions.

In some instances when you voluntarily take an action that uses email functionality, you will be alerted immediately following taking that action that you have opted in to receiving further email communications unless you opt out of receiving such communications by unsubscribing.

If you voluntarily join a petition or send an email that is to be delivered to a third party, such as a governmental figure or agency, we will deliver to that third party the Voluntarily Submitted Data you submit in connection with joining the petition.

Defending Rights & Dissent does not sell or rent member, donor or website visitor information under any circumstances, and we do not share member, donor or visitor information without prior consent except as compelled by law and in accordance with the First and Fourth Amendments.

Third Parties

Third Party Sharing

Generally, we do not share Automatically Submitted Data, Voluntarily Submitted Data or Other Collected Data with third parties. However, we do share such data with those third-party service providers who fulfill your orders or transactions, contact you on our behalf, or facilitate some other aspect of Defending Rights & Dissent activities, including those third-party service providers who collect, process, store and transmit information we collect on this website on our behalf and those third-party service providers we use to assist us in our fundraising and communications efforts. These service providers have access to your Voluntarily Submitted Data solely for the purpose of providing these services to us on our behalf, and they are contractually prohibited from sharing your Automatically Submitted Data and Voluntarily Submitted Data with third parties other than subcontractors assisting them in their providing these services to us who also are contractually prohibited from sharing your Automatically Submitted Data and Voluntarily Submitted Data with any other third parties.

Except as described in this Privacy Policy, we will not share your Voluntarily Submitted Data with any third party unless we first notify you and offer you an appropriate choice to consent to such further use, for example, through an opt-out or opt-in request.

Third-Party Functionality

As discussed in the preceding section, to support certain functions carried out on the Defending Rights & Dissent website, the Defending Rights & Dissent uses third-party service providers. In limited instances with respect to specific optional functions on the Defending Rights & Dissent website, these third parties may have data collection, use or security procedures that differ from the practices outlined in this Privacy Policy and that may impact users of those optional functions. For example, a third-party service provider may allow us to stream videos through the Defending Rights & Dissent website on an embedded video player (e.g., the YouTube embedded player) and, by viewing that video on the Defending Rights & Dissent website, you are actually accessing that service provider’s website and subject to its data collection, use or security procedures. This third party may, for example, transfer a Long-term Cookie to your computer when you use this functionality. You are encouraged to review that third party’s procedures prior to using that optional functionality.

Portions of the Defending Rights & Dissent website, including some of our individual action alert webpages, are operated by third-parties, such as grassroots campaign service providers. Defending Rights & Dissent also uses a third-party credit card processor. These service providers may place session cookies on your computer. BORDC/DDF’s service providers may also log standard technical information (similar to the Automatically Collected Information described above). Our service providers may also store and organize the personal information collected through this site on our behalf.

For all of Defending Rights & Dissent’s service providers, hosting providers and credit card processors and any other providers we may use in the future, the information collected from BORDC/DDF users remains protected by the terms of our agreements with those providers and we will ensure that the information to be kept confidential and disclosed only to employees who require such access in the course of their assigned duties.

Your Ability to Choose

After providing us with your Voluntarily Submitted Data on the Defending Rights & Dissent website, you can let us know that you do not wish to receive our email communications by unsubscribing to email communications, either by using the “Unsubscribe” link present in every email or by notifying us via email to info@rightsanddissent.org or in writing to Defending Rights & Dissent, PO Box 1821, Silver Spring, MD 20915.

Children

We do not knowingly collect information from children under the age of 13.

Security

The Voluntarily Submitted Data we collect about you is stored on a secure, password protected server and only authorized personnel have access to your information. We use industry-standard encryption technologies with respect to the receipt and transfer of Voluntarily Submitted Data you submit to us on the Defending Rights & Dissent Site and only authorized personnel have access to your information. Nevertheless, despite our best efforts, no transmission over the Internet and no data storage method can be guaranteed to be 100% secure.

Disclosure of Your Information

While Defending Rights & Dissent endeavors to provide the highest level of protection for your information, we may disclose personally identifiable information about you to third parties in limited circumstances, including: (1) with your consent; or (2) when we have a good faith belief it is required by law, such as pursuant to a subpoena or other judicial or administrative order.

If we are required by law to disclose the information that you have submitted, we will attempt to provide you with prior notice (unless we are prohibited or it would be futile) that a request for your information has been made in order to give you an opportunity to object to the disclosure. We will attempt to provide this notice by email, if you have given us an email address, or by postal mail if you have entered a postal address. If you do not challenge the disclosure request, we may be legally required to turn over your information.

In addition, we will independently object to requests for access to information about users of our site that we believe to be improper.

Changes to this Policy

Defending Rights & Dissent may occasionally update this Policy. We will post any changes on this web page, so be sure to check back periodically. Any information that you submit after a change has been posted will be subject to the new provisions.

Comments and Questions

If you have any questions, comments or concerns about this Privacy Policy or our data collection practices or to request that we delete your Voluntarily Submitted Data, you can contact us via email at info@rightsanddissent.org or by writing to Defending Rights & Dissent, PO Box 1821, Silver Spring, MD 20915.

As a grassroots advocacy organization wielding limited resources, Defending Rights & Dissent is not in a position to offer individual legal advice or representation.